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Windham, Maine, 



IN THE 



War OF THE Revolution 



1775--1783 • 



BY 



Nathan Goold. 



H. W. BRYANT, 

Bookseller and Publisher, 

Portland, Me. 

" 1900. 




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Windham, Maine 



IN THE 



War of the Revolution 



775-1783 



BY 



Nathan Goold. 



H. W. BRYANT, 

Bookseller and Publisher, 

Portland, Me. 

1900. 



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WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



fathers purchased for us at so dear a 
rate as the expense of their own 
blood, and that we used formerly and 
still ought to enjoy. 

The resolutions they recorded in the 
town books because, as they said, 
'.'that the rising generations may s?.e 
what care their forefathers have 
taken to defend their liberties 
and privileges, that they may take '■he 
like care if they are called to it as we 
are." The next year, another letter, 
in "bold and energetic language," was 
sent to the Boston committee. "What 
better record could patriots leave to 
their posterity? 

Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, Thomas 
Trott and Daniel Barker were choseti 
to represent Windham in the Cumber- 
land county convention of September, 
1774, to consider "the present alarming 
situation of our public affairs," and 
the resolutions that were then passed 
have been said to be "probably the 
ablest exposition of public affairs, at 
that time, now extant." That year 
the town elected the following officers 
for the militia company and ordered 
them to instruct their men in the mili- 
tary art: 

Richard Mayberry, Captain. 

David Barker, Lieutenant. 

Joseph Swetti, Ensign. 

Then hardly anyone lived in the 
eastern or northern part of the town. 
Windham Centre was in the outskirts. 
The town meetings were held in 'Jie 
old Block House, (which had always 
been their place of refuge) in the 
southern or lower part of the town. In 
this old fort they met, March 15, 1775, 
and to be prepared for the gathering 
cloud of war voted "27 pounds to pur- 
chase a town stock of ammunition, as 
soon as possible, and that the town 
will pay interest to any man who will 
let the town have the money to do it." 
Then Capt. Caleb Graffam, who had 
had experience in the French and In- 
dian war, was appointed to fix up the 
great gun and swivels, "as soon as pos- 
sible." These resolute men had made 
up their minds to resist the authority 
of Great Britaini, and, if need be, they 
were to turn the guns of the old fort 
on British authority. There was no 
hesitancy and the decision seems to 
have been unanimous. 

Ten days after the battle of Lexing- 
ton was fought, a town meeting was 
called and one of the articles of the' 
warrant was "To see if the town will 
agree on any method to provide a 
quantity of corn, or other bread kind, 



in times of distress by an enemy which 
appears to be very soon." The record 
of that town meeting was never 
copied into the town book, although a 
space was reserved for it and it is still 
blank paper. Those were times when 
men's souls were tried. 

Feb. 8, 1775, the following officers 
were elected for the town company: 

Richard Mayberry, Captain. 

David Barker, Lieutenant. 

Edward Anderson, Ensign. 

When the attempt was to be made to 
capture the vessels of Capt. Henry 
Mowat, in Portland harbor, in May, 
1775, what has since been known ^.r, 
"Thompson's war," the Windham 
company was there, under Capt. May- 
berry, and from all we can learn now, 
were very active in sacking the Tory 
Coulson's house on King street. With 
the Gorham boys, they made clean 
work of it and drank up the New Eng- 
land rum which Coulson had put into 
his cellar for his own use. This 
shocked the Falmouth Neck Tories 
then, but it has never troubled their 
descendants at Windham. 

Capt. Mayberry joined Capt. Samuel 
Knight's company in June and served 
as lieutenant through that year, as 
coast guard on Casco bay. Edward An-' 
derson was the second lieutenant ani 
five other Windham men were in the 
company, as follows:, Sergt. Moses 
How, Corp. Thomas Mayberry, Pri- 
vates John Anderson, Caleb Young 
and Josiah Chute. Then the following 
officers were appointed to command 
the town company: 

William Knight, Captain. 

David Barker, Lieutenant. 

Richard Dole, Ensign. 

The war was now on and this com- 
pany was ready for duty at little 
warning. They were minute men. A 
tradition has always been in our family 
that these men were raising the frame 
of Jacob Eliott's house when Mowat's 
guns were heard, when he was burn- 
ing Falmouth, Oct. 18. 1775, and that 
they left their work and hurried to 
that town to aid the inhabitants in its 
defence. That house is now a part of 
the present one on the William Goold 
farm, near Windham Centre. It was 
originally of but one story and stood 
on the other side of the driveway, 
where the large elm tree stands and 
faced the.west, with a door in the end 
towards the south, that opened into 
the kitchen, whicn had a large fire- 
place nearly the width of the room. T 
have been told that coming down the 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION, 



road that, when the door was open, it 
looked as thousrh you could drive 
straight into the fireplace. Around 
the kitchen were unpainted wooden 
dressers upon which stood the 

polished pewter dishes and the china 
used by the family. This was seven- 
ty-five years ago. Ebenezer Barton 
the Revolutionary soldier, married 
Dorothy Eliott and they were buried 
on this farm, in the Goold family 
yard. Our grandfather, Nathan 

Goold bought the farm of the Elliotts 
in 1802, and it is now owned by his 
granddaughter, Mrs. Abba G. Wool- 
son. 

In proof of the above tradition, there 
is the original pay roll of Capt. 
Knight's company, in the State House 
at Boston, for service at Falmouth 
Neck, "as guards from 18th October, 
1775, to the 23d of same." There were 
twenty-three men and three officers. 

When the British ship Cerebus en- 
tered Portland harbor, on Nov. 1, 1775, 
and threatened to burn that part of 
the town that had escaped Mowafs 
destruction, but thirteen days before, 
this Windham company again hurried 
to assist in the defence of that town 
and another pay roll gives the men 
credit for from two to sixteen days' 
service in building earthworks there. 
The ship did not carry out the threat, 
because of the spirit of the people, but 
sailed away. 

In May, 1775, several men of the 
town enlisted in Col. Edmund Phin- 
ney's regiment and, in July, marched 
to Cambridge, Mass., where they 
served under Washington during that 
year in the siege of Boston. One of 
those men was Stephen Manchester, 
the slayer of the Indian chief, Polin, in 
1756, who served in Capt. John Brack- 
ett's Co. from May 12, 1775, and per- 
haps he was the first man of Windham 
to enlist for service in the field. He 
had a long service in other regiments. 
In 1775, the town is said to have had: 
7 men at Cambridge for 8 months, 
4 men at Falmouth for 8 months, 
6 men at Cambridge for 2 months. 
The town elected, Jan. 12, 1776, the 
following as the Committee of Safety: 
Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, 
Thomas Trott, 
David Barker, 
Caleb Graffam, 
Richard Mayberry. 
That year the town company was the 
first in Col. Timothy Pike's 4th Cum- 
berland County Regt. of Militia. 
Another Committee of. Safety was 



elected March 19, 1776, as follows: 
Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, 
Caleb Graffam, 
Richard Mayberry, 
Thomas Trott, 
Isaac Hardy. 

The town sent no representative to 
the General Court during the Revolu- 
tionary war, no doubt on account of 
their poverty. The towns paid their 
representatives then for their attend- 
ance. 

Their copy of the Declaration of In- 
dependence did not get into the hands 
of the town clerk for weeks after its 
declaration, but Richard Dole, then the 
clerk, wishing to shirk no responsibil- 
ity, transcribed it on the town book in 
a bold hand. The words "A Declara- 
tion" and "U. S. of America," he made 
every letter a capital to emphasize its 
importance. When he wrote the sig- 
nature, John Hancock, he outdid Han- 
cock himselfi, in its boldness. The 
penmanship is a credit to the writer 
because it was a piece of good work. 
This was the last entry in the hand- 
writing of Richard Dole f.uring the 
war,, for he then entered the army as 
a private in Col. Marshall's regiment 
and served three years and must have 
seen much hard service. He was a 
sterling patriot. Samuel T. Dole 's 
his grandson. 

It is .said that the town had the fol- 
lowing in the service in 1776: 
13 men in the State's service at Peeks- 
kill for 3 months. 
9 men in the State's service at Dor- 
chester for 4 months. 
4 men in the State's service at Rhode 

Island for 4 months. 
6 men in the State's service for 12 
months. 

TTie statement of thirteen men being 
at Peekskill, in 1776, we have not been 
able to verify. It is probable that 
those men were in the army at Cam- 
bridge until August and then marched 
to reinforce the army at Lake Cham- 
plain. The men went to Peekskill in 
1778. There were more than six men 
in the one year regiments from Wind- 
ham in 1/76 and militia men were sent 
in a militia regiment, probably Col. 
Wigglesworth's, to the Northern army 
in the fall of that year. 

The following is a list of the tax 
payers of Windham for the year 177G, 
as given for a county tax. Timothy 
Pike. David Barker and Ichabod Han- 
son were the assessors and Daniel Pet- 
tingall the collector. 

Tax Payers of 1776. 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



Anderson. Edward Allen, Peltiah 
Bodg-e. John Boulton, William 

Barker, David Brown, Ezra 

Brown, Amos Barton, Ebenez'3r 

Chase, Eleazer Chesley, Joseph 

Crague, Hugh Crocket, George 

Crocket, Daniel Cook, Daniel 

Frost, Widow Joanna Graffam, Enoch 
Hutchinson, Richard 
Hutchinson, Stephen 
Hutchinson, Stephen Jr. 
Hall, Daniel Hall, Andrew 

Hall, Hateevil Hanson, Elijah 

Hanson, Ichabod Hanson, Samuel 

Hanson, Jonathan Hardy, Isaac 
Harris, Stephen Hawkes, Ebenezir 

Hawkes, Amos Hawkes, James 

Hawkes, Nathaniel 
Hunnerwell, Zerutababel 
Hunnerwell, Elijah 
Hutchinson, Samuel 
Jonson, James Knight, William 

Lovett, Jonathan Legro, Joseph 

Legro, Elias Little, Paul 

Mabery, Margaret 
Mabery, Richard 
Mabery, John Mabery, William 

Mabery, William Jr. 
Mabery, Thomas 
Millins, Robert 
Manchester, Stephen Jr. 
Mathews, John Martin, Robert 

McKeney, William 
, Muckford, Robert 
Muckford, Nathaniel 
Osgood, Abraham Pettingall, Daniel 
Pike, Timothy Pray, James 

Proctor, William Purinton, David 

Rand, John Robinson, John 

Roberts, Joseph Roberts, Jonathan 

Rogers, Gershom Sweat, Joseph 

Sweat, John Smith. Widow Lucy 

Stevens, Chase Steven.s, Jonathan 

Thurrell, James Trott, Thomas 

Woodman, Stephen 
Winship, Gershom 
Webb, Eli Woodman, David 

Waite, Benja. Waite, Enoch 

Loring. John 
The following were taxed for their 
ownership in mills in the town: 
Margaret Mabery, Richard Mabery, 
Samuel Eastys, Stephen Morril, 

Benja. Winslow, Jr., William Hall, 
Isaac Allen, Jr., Benja. Winslow. 

The above tax list gives us the 
names of the citizens of Windham in 
that interesting year of the war, 177C. 
It is of considerable historical value. 
Those men serving in the army were 
probably exempted from taxation. 

In 1777, the selectmen and committee 
fixed the prices of the necessities of 
life as follows: 



Farming labor in summer 
season, found as usual, 

3 shillings, 4 pence per day 
Wheat, 4 shilling's per bushel 

Rye, 5 shillings, 4 pence per bushel 

Indian Corn, 

4 shillings, 8 pence per bushel 
Toddy, 1 shilling per m^ig 

N. E. Toddy, 9% pence per mug 

Farming labor, in winter, 

2 shillings, 8 pence per da>' 
Good yard wide cotton or 
linen cloth, 

4 shillings, 8 pence per yard 
Butter, lOVs pence per pound 

Keeping horse or yoke of 

oxen, 24 hours, 1 shilling, 6 pence 

Potatoes in the fall, 

2 Fhil ings per bushf-1 
Men's shoes of Neats' 

leather, 8 shillings per pair 

Women's shoes, 6 shillings per pair 
Turkeys, Fowl and Ducks, 

5 pence per pound 
Good hay, 60 shillings out of barn, 

48 shillings in the field 
Milk, 3% pence per quart 

House carpenters and 
joiners, 4 shillings per day 

It will be noticed that toddy was 
thought to be a necessity of life then. 
The Committee of Safety and In- 
spection, in 1777, were: 
Zerubabbel Hunnerwell, 
Abraham Osgood, 
William Knight, 
Daniel Pettingall, 
Caleb Graffam. 

The town paid the selectmen, Sept. 
24, 1777, for "mileage to Picks Kill, 
Fish Kill and Cambridge," 46 pounds, 
2 shillings. They evidently visited 
those places to look out for Windham 
soldiers in the service there. 

William Elder was the town trea.^ur- 
er, 1777-1780, four years. The town 
in 1777, had three men in the state ser- 
vice at Rutland, Vt., besides those in 
the Massachusetts Line, which ware 
three years men and were the ones 
who saw the active service in the 
field. Windham had several soldiers 
who wintered at Valley Forge, where 
their sufferings were beyond descrip- 
tion. 

In Col. Benjamin Tupper's 11th 
Mass. Regt. the following soldiers 
were returned as in camp: 
Capt. Richard Mayberry, 
Josiah Chute, 
Ebenezer Barton, 

William Mayberry.son of Capt. Rich- 
ard, 
Robert Millions, 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



Richard Mayberry, Jr., 

John Svvett, 

Nicholas Hughes, 

Eleazer Chase, 

Peter Smith, 

Amos Brown. 

Stephen Tripp was reported as sick 
at Albany, N. Y., at that time. 

The following were probably in camp 
there, also: 

Job Hall of Ool. Tupper's Regt. 

Richard Dole of Col. Marshall's 
Regt. 

Edward Webb of Col. Marshall's 
Regt. 

Eli Herbert of Col. Brewer's Regt. 

Stephen Manchester of Col. Vase's 
Regt. 

:^noch Graffam of Col. Vose's Regt. 

George Teshary of Col. Vose's Regt. 

Stephen Manchester, Jr., of Col. 
Vose's Regt., died at Reading, Penn.. 
Jan. 5, 1778, aged 26 years. 

The destitution of these soldiers at 
Valley Forge beggers any words of 
mine. It is said that, at one time, 
there were but two pairs of shoes in 
Capt. Mayberry's company and those 
belonged to Josiah Chute. It was 
with much satisfaction that, on a 
beautiful day in September, 1899, I 
viewed their campground at Valley 
Forge. Now it is cultivated fields 
and one cannot realize now the true 
history of that land. The earthworks 
on the hill, overlooking the camp, ai'e 
in a good state of preservation and 
that land has been purchased by the 
state of Pennsylvania for a reserva- 
tion. An effort is being made by the 
descendants of the Revolutionary scl- 
diers to secure the whole campground 
as a state park for public use as a 
memorial to the brave men who illus- 
trated that winter the fortitude of the 
American soldier. The people of 
Windham heard of their sons' suffering 
at Valley Forge, for April 14, 1778, 
$150.00 was voted "to defray the charge 
of providing shirts, stockings and 
shoes for the soldiers in the Continen- 
tal army," and 20 pounds was voted 
for the soldiers' families. 

March 17, 1778, the town voted, "To 
allow James Hawkes for six dollars of 
counterfeit money that was returned 
from the Treasurer's office, and Daniel 
Pettingall was allowed four dollars. 
This was probably some of the British 
counterfeit money that they flooded 
the country with. In New York tney 
advertised that if anyone going into 
the American lines would call at a 
certain place they could have all the 
Continental currency they wanted. 



May 15, 1778, $600.00 was voted "for 
those three men that is drafted to Fish 
Kill," and "that amount be assessed 
immediately." Twelve days later, it 
was "voted 44 pounds for each of these 
three militia men that is drafted, to be 
given them as a bounty." They were 
probably Thomas Chute, Benjamin 
Trott and Daniel P. Mayberry, nine 
months' men. The Committee of 
Safety and Inspection for 1778 were: 

Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, 

Paul Little, 

David Noyes. 

The winter of 1777-8 was a blue one 
in Windham. They knew too well the 
sufferings at Valley Forge and what 
then seemed the hopeless prospect for 
their independence. They heard of ihe 
discontent in the army and of the at- 
tempts to supersede Washington in 
command, with not one ray of hope for 
the success of the war. They were 
suffering poverty itself and the situa- 
tion seemed almost unbearable. At 
Valley Forge, Capt. Richard Mayberry 
signed the oath of allegiance and the 
Windham men took the oath, that the 
United States was then their >nly 
country, every one; an example of 
constancy to the people of the town 
for all time. Lossing says of Valley 
Forge: "If there is a spot on the face 
of this broad land whereon Patriotism 
should delight to pile its highest and 
most venerated monument, it should be 
in the bosom of that little vale on the 
bank of the Schuylkill." When 
spring came, the resources of means 
and men of the town seemed exhaust- 
ed, and, in June, the people met in 
solemn town meeting and voted to pe- 
tition the General Court to be excused 
from the draft and from any future 
drafts. They felt as though they Iiad 
gone as for as they could. If the pe- 
tition was ever presented it was not 
granted. Most of the towns were in 
about the same condition and granting 
such requests would have been the sur- 
render of all the past efforts of the col- 
ony. They kept on. 

At the request of the General Court 
of Massachusetts, Capt. Thomas 
Trott, of the town company, sent the 
following statement of the soldiers in 
the Continental army on Nov. 24, 1778. 
from Windham: 

Col. Benjamin Tupper's 11th. Mass. 
Regiment. 

Capt. Richard Mayberry's Co. 
Capt. Richard Mayberry, 
Josiah Chute. John Swett 

William Mayberry, Robert Millions 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



Stephen Tripp Joseph Thompson 

Ebenezer Barton James Rines 

Eleazer Chase 

All three years men. 

David Mayberry Thomas Chute 

Nine months' men. 

Capt. Samuel Thomes' Co. 

Lonon Rhode (had died Dec. 9. 1777.) 

Amos Brown (killed at Hubbardton.) 

Col. Joseph Vose's 1st Mass. Reg-t. 
Capt. George Smith's Co. 
Knoch Graffam, Stephen Manchester, 

Georg-e Teshary. 

Col. Edward Wigglesworth's 13th 

Mass. Regt. 

Capt. Nicholas Blal.^dell's Co. 

Joseph Leg-row, Elias Legrow, 

Col. Samuel Brewer's 12th Mass. Regt. 

Capt. Silas Burbank's Co. 

Job Hall. 

Col. Thomas Marshall's 10th Mass. Regt. 

Capt. Benjamin Walcott's Co. 
Richard Dole, Edward Webb. 

These all three years' men. 

Total, 20 3 years' men. 
2 9 months' men. 

Capt. Thomas Trott was commis- 
sioned in the Windham company in 
September, 1777. and it was still the 
First Company of the 4th Regt. of 
Cumherland County Militia. Timothy 
Pike, the colonel of this regiment, was 
a resident of Windham the first four 
years of the war. The major was Wil- 
liam Knight of Windham. 

January 12. 1779, the people "voted SO 
pounds for the support of the women 
whose husbands are in the army." 

In March town meeting the following 
were elected for the Committee of 
Safety and Inspection for the year: 

William Knight, 

David Barker, 

Daniel Pettingall. 

The prices of labor on the roads were 
fixed at: 

Men, 30 shillings, oxen the same and 
18 shillings for a plow, all per day. 

The year 1779 was a dismal one for 
the struggling colonists, currency de- 
moralized and prospects poor, but the 
town's people kept on with undaunted 
courage. May 24 the town "voted 300 
pounds for the support of the women 
whose husbands are in the Continental 
service," and June 21, 13 shirts, 13 pairs 
shoes and 13 pairs of stockings for the 
army. Thirteen men were in 

the Continental army from Windham, 
at that time and probably more. 

In June came the Bagaduce Expedi- 
tion and July 9, 16 men were drafted 



for that expedition and 960 pounds 
were voted for the same. The town 
records say, it was voted "to raise 
money enough to make up 

every man's wages that is detached 
and goes to Penobscot, or sends a man 
in his stead, thirty pounds per month 
for two months or in proportion if dis- 
charged sooner," also "voted that the 
town raise money and give Lieut. Ed- 
ward Anderson thf same sum that the 
town is to give one of the soldiers for 
to go in the expedition to Penobscot." 
This expedition to what is now Cas- 
tine. Me., was, as is well known, a dis- 
mal disaster and many soldiers per- 
ished from the effects of the exposu-e 
in the woods. Our histories generally 
give the impression that men tumljled 
over each other to enlist in that army, 
but there is little evidence of any such 
zeal. 

After our forces were defeated at 
Bagaduce, Falmouth Neck was threat- 
ened. Sept. 1§ ten men were drafted ^o 
guard, what is now Portland, against 
any attack from the victorious British. 
The British never came and the town 
"voted to make up thirty pounds per 
month for ten that is to be stationed 
at Falmouth with what the state 
gives." Sept. 23, it was voted "to raise 
money enough to make each of those 
men that went on the expedition to 
Penobscot, one hundred dollars per 
month during the expedition with what 
the state is to give them." The reason 
such large sums were paid was be- 
cause, at that time, the currency was 
very badly depreciated and of little 
value. 

In September, 1779, the town supplied 
clothing for the soldiers, through Tim- 
othy Pike, as follows: 
5 shirts, 60 shillings, 15 pound.-^ 

13 pairs shoes, 60 shillings, 39 pounds 
5 pairs stockings, 36 shillings, 9 pounds 

Total, 63 pounds 

Col. Pike removed this year to Sac- 

carappa. He had been a most useful 

citizen and was a loss to the little 

town. 

The Committee of Safety and In- 
spection, in 1780, were: 

Caleb Graffam, 

Paul Little, 

Zerubbabel Hunnerwell. 

The price per day for town work, for 
1780, was, for a man or a yoke of oxen, 
$30.00. Daniel Brown was allowed 16 
pounds for services attending the 
County Committee. 

April 16, the town "voted $200.00 for 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



each man that will go to the east- 
ward." This was for the eleven men 
who went in Capt. Isaac Parsons' Co., 
in Lieut. Col. Joseph Prime's Regt., 
that served on the Maine coast that 
year. They served from about May 
4 until Deo. 6, and this company, 
probably, at Camden. These men 
from Windham were, Sergt. Benjamin 
Trott; drummer, Peter Smith; pri- 
vates, James Chute, Nathaniel Chase, 
Jacob Rliott, George Knight, Samuel 
Lord, Thomas Mayberry, John May- 
berry, Samuel Toben and John Win- 
ship, besides Lieut. Ichabod Hanson. 
April 24, it was "voted Lieut. Hanson 
$200.00 per month during the time that 
he is in the service in the expedition 
to the eastward." 

June 14, 1780, the town supplied "ol- 
diers with clothing, through Caleb 
Graffam, a selectman, as by the follow- 
ing statement: 

9 shirts, 10 sh., 10 d. 94 pounds, 10 sh. 
14 pairs shoes, 144 sh. 100 pounds, 16 sh. 
7 pair stockiTigs,80 sh. 28 pounds 
Transportation, l'> pounds 



soldiers in the army as per the follow- 
ing statement of Jonathan Lovett, 
selectman: 

9 shirts, 40 pounds 360 pounds 

9 pairs shoes, 40 pounds 360 pounds 
9 pairs stockings, 24 pounds 216 pounds 
12 miles travel, 36 pounds 

3 days time, 63 pounds 



Total, 298 pounds, 6 sh. 

Sept. 25, 2760 pounds of beef was 
furnished for the army and Oct. 25. 
the town appropriated $13,050.00 to pur- 
chase beef for the army as per state 
requisition. Dec. 4, 5011 pounds more 
of beef was furnished. Still the war 
went on, now over five years and a 
half. In November, Windham sent 
six more men into the Continental 
army for three years. The town's 
people must have felt that they were 
doing God's work for their posterity, 
or they could not have kept on with 
such burdens. 

Jan. 16, 1781, William Knight, Thom- 
as Trott and Edward Anderson were 
appointed a committee to agree with 
the men who will go into the army for 
three years as soldiers, about bounty 
and wages, and the town "voted $2,- 
280 dollars, silver money, for the sol- 
diers that is to go into the army for 
three years," also that, "the soldiers 
shall be paid ten dollars, in silver 
money, by the town per month and' 
twenty dollars, in silver money, as a 
bounty," and "to pay them once in 
three months." The paper money had 
become so worthless they were obliged' 
to return to silver values to obtain 
soldiers. 

Feb. 8, the town voted .$20,044.00, pa-- 
per money, towards the quota of beef' 
affixed to the town by the resolve of 
the General Court. 
• In March, clothing was sent to the 



Total, 1035 pounds 

The Committee of Safety for 1781, 
were: 

Abraham Osgood, 

Richard Mayberry, 

Thomas Trott. 

The price of labor was fixed at $50.00 
per day and oxen the same. For the 
use of a plow $25.00 per day. 

July 14, 1781, it was voted that the 
town will abide by the agreement the 
committee shall make for 3 men to go 
into the Continental army, and 60 
pounds was appropriated for beef and 
Paul Little, Ezra Brown and Richard 
Mayberry were appointed to purchase 
it "as cheap as possible." The state 
tax for 1781 was 949 pounds, 6 shillings, 
and Abraham Osgood was the town 
treasurer. Aug. 27, 1781, 20 pounds was 
voted to provide clothing for the sol- 
diers; 4 shillings 8 pence was to be the 
price per yard for all wool cloth, after 
it was fulled for blanketing and made 
into blankets, 12 shillings f )r a cotton 
or linen shirt containing SV2 yards, 12 
shillings for a pair of shoes made well, 
of good leather, and 6 shillings for a 
pair of good stockings. At least four 
blankets were sent to the army this 
year. 

With all these troubles on hand they 
appointed Capt. Richard Mayberry 
agent to meet the agents of the neigh- 
boring towns about flshways in the 
Presumpscot river dams. 

Jan. 28, 1782, William Elder was ap- 
pointed the agent of the town to pro- 
cure one Continental soldier to iill 
their quota. March 1. three soldiers 
were sent into the Continental army 
for three years and May 31, 173 pounds 
was voted to pay the soldiers. 

At the March town meeting tli^ 
prices for work on highways was re- 
duced to hard money and 4 shillings 
was set for a day's work for men or 
Oxen, 2 shillings for a plow. At this 
meeting 40 shillings was offered for 
wolves' heads. They also voted to 
sell the old fort at public vendue; the 
old block house where they had gath- 
ei-ed together in alarms and had lived 
many a year: thiMr place of refuge and 
strength in times of trouble. They 
probably thought the town had out- 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



grown its protection. At the same 
meeting more money was appropriated 
for tiie soldiers. Paul Little was tlie 
town treasurer for the year 1782 and 
1783. 

Ttie old fort was located nearly in 
the centre of the ten acre lots, on No. 
34, it being the highest elevation and is 
Anderson land now. The building- was 
50 feet square, two stories high, with 
walls one foot thick, built of hewn 
hemlock timber with a tier of port 
holes. The upper story projected over 
the lower about a foot. It had a 
flattish roof and there were two flank- 
ers or watch boxes at diagonal cor- 
ners, twelve feet square, the same 
height as the main building and in 
each was mounted a swivel gun. About 
thirty feet from the fort was a stock- 
ade, made of twelve inch logs, sixteen 
feet long, set in the ground and bound 
together at the middle and top with 
oak timbers. Through this there was 
one gate or door and here stood a nine 
pound gun to defend the only entrance. 
The fort was built in 1744 with the one 
hundred pounds appropriated by the 
General Court for the defence of Lhe 
frontier towns when the war was de- 
clared b«'tween France and England. 
Then a French war meant also an In- 
dian war. 

How soldiers were raised in the 
towns for the Continental army, in 
1782, is of considerable interest in the 
history of the war. The modus oper- 
andi was for the government of the 
Commonwealth to assign each town 
their quota, under a call for troops, 
and the Treasurer General would send 
that demand to the selectman and 
witi it the following order: 

"Commonwealth of Massachusetts: 
The Honorable Henry Gardner, Esq.: 

Treasurer and Receiver General of 

said Commonwealth. 

To the Selectmen or Assessors of the 
Town of Windham, Greeting, &c.: 

In obedience to a Resolution of 
the Commonwealth aforesaid, of the 
Eighth of March, 1782, these are in 
the Name of said Commonwealth to 
will and require you forthwith to 
assess the Sum of One Hundred and 
Forty Eight Pounds, 3 shillings, 4 
penc(^ on the deficient Class or Classes 
in your Town or Plantations, being 
the average Price of the Cost of rais- 
ing the Men to supply the Deficiency 
of the Massachusetts Line of the Ar- 
my, agreeable to a Notification of his 
Excellency the Governor and Council 
of said Commonwealth, transmitted to 
the Treasurer of said Commonwealth, 



bearing date of March, 1782, in Pur- 
suance of the Resolve aforesaid, to- 
gether with twenty per cent added 
thereto; You are likewise required to 
levy on each Class deficient as afor'S- 
said. Two per Cent on said Line, as a 
Fee for the Constable or Collector to 
defrey the Expense of collecting the 
same; which List or Lists, when com- 
pleted according to Law, you are to de- 
liver to the Collector or Collectors, 
Constable or Constables of your Town 
or Plantation; and make Return to me 
of the Name or Names of the said Con- 
stable or Constables, Collector or Col- 
lectors, together with the Sum or Sums 
to them respectively committed to col- 
lect, within Five Days from the Date 
hereof. 

Hereof you are not to fail, as you 
will answer your Neglect at the Peril 
of the Law. 

Given under my Hand and Seal at 

Boston, the Day of March, 

in the Year of our Lord One Thousand 
Seven Hundred and Eighty two, in the 
Seventh Year of American Inde- 
pendence. 

H. Gardner." 

On receipt of the above, the assess- 
ors divided the tax payers into the 
same number of classes as the number 
of soldiers were called for that had 
not been furnished and made up a 
tax list for the amount necessary for 
one soldier, then appointed a head for 
the class to whom the tax list was 
committed for collection. One of 
those lists came into my possession 
some years since of which the follow- 
ing is a copy: 

"Cumberland ss. 

To Josiah Chute of 
Windham in said County, you are 
hereby appointed head of a class in 
said Windham aforesaid for procur- 
ing Soldiers for the Continental army 
for three years or during the war of 
which the Following is A copy and 
you are required forthwith to notify 
the Persons nam'd in your Class who 
are residents in said Windham to as- 
semble for Hireing A man which if 
you Neglect four days after Receiving 
this you will be subject to all the -"ost 
& Charge that may fall on said class 
in consequence of their not procuring 
a man as aforesaid in case your class 
after being duly notified by you shall 
refuse or neglect to hire a man as 
afors'd & deliver him to the muster 
master until the Tenth day of April 
Instant they will be subject to a fine 
eaqual to the avridge price that the 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



II 



Man Cost with Twenty P Get. added 
theirto you all so to make return to us 
of the names of the persons in Class 
who shall be deficient in paying his 
proportion for Hiring & Mustering sd 
man agreeable to the rule herewith 
given you in order that he may be as- 
ses'd for said deficiency with Ten 
P Cet added thereto given under our 
hands at Windham this 5 Day April 
1782. 

Abram Osgood, David Barker, 
Assessors of Windham." 

Each Man's proportion 155 — 5 — 2 
according to the late Tax Bill. 
Head Class. 
Chute, Josiah 1 15 3 

Anderson, John 1 3 3 4 

Barker, David 2 5 4 10 

Bodge, John 1 3 6 

Bodge, Benjamin 1 3 3 3 

Bolton, William 3 10 17 9 

Graffam, Caleb 1 7 13 10 

Graffam, Caleb Jr. 1 1 17 10 

Graffam, Enoch 1 1 12 10 

Hall Estate, 5 12 7 

Hunnewell, Rich'd 1 2 11 1 

Hutchinson, Sam'l I 1 18 1 

Hawks, Ebenezer 1 4 13 5 

Hawks, Amos 2 6 7 

Jones, Elamual 1 1 18 9 

Kennard. Elijah 1 2 10 1 

Degro, Ellias 1 2 14 3 

Lowell, Joshua 2 3 5 11 

Knights, Will'm 3 10 12 7 

Lord, Charles 1 2 17 10 

Muckford, Robt. Jr. 1 1 11 8 

Meabary, John 2 6 17 7 

Meaberry, WMll'm 2 5 18 2 

Manchester, Stephn 1 2 3 5 

Winship, Gersham 1 2 15 4" 

Mitchell, Robert 1 1 17 

Robinson, John 1 9 1 10 

Stephens, Jonathan 2 7 13 7 

Blaney, Joseph Esqr. 2 13 5 8 

Hunawell, Zerubable 1 9 16 11 

Hanson, Jonathan 1 7 14 9 

Elder, Will'm Jr. 1 3 10 

Young, John 1 2 8 1 



Polls. 43 155 5 2 

"Each Man's proportion of what the 
Soldier Cost Proportioned same man- 
ner." 

The Committee of Correspondence 
and Safety for 1783 were: 

Zerubbabel Hunnewell, 

David Barker, 

Thomas Barker. 

Thomas Barker was elected to the 
General Court and he promised to ask 
no wages of the town except what they 
would be pleased to give him. 

The war was now over. Cornwallis 



had surrendered at Yorktown, Oct. 
19, 1781, which ended hostilities. The 
preliminary treaty of peace was i>ro- 
claimed April 19, 1783, and the treaty 
was signed the next September. The 
news that must have given the griit- 
est satisfaction was that Great Brit- 
ain had acknowledged our inde- 
pendence, Nov. 30, 1782. Then there 
were happy days in Windham; the re- 
turn of the soldiers and their own un- 
disturbed days to develope their farms. 
Then they had the satisfaction of feel- 
ing that the town had done its full 
duty, through those long eight years of 
anxiety, although it had come out with 
an empty treasury and had many 
outstanding obligations to be met. 

Windham had no men at Lexington, 
Concord or Bunker Hill, but her sons 
served at Falmouth Neck and through 
the Seige of Boston under Gen. Wash- 
ington. They marched to reinforce the 
Northern army in 1776 and garrisoned 
Dorchester Heights that year. They 
were in the retreat from Fort Ticon- 
deroga in 1777 and fought in the battles 
of Hubbardton, Stillwater and Sarato- 
ga and witnessed the surrender of Gen. 
Burgoyne's army. They guarded the 
Burgoyne prisoners at Cambridge in 
1778, marched to Rhode Island in the 
alarms, were at Quaker Hill and rein- 
forced the army on the Hudson rivei' 
at Peekskill. They spent the winter of 
1777 — 8 at Valley Forge where there 
were no greater heroes than they, and 
fought in the desperate battle of Mon- 
mouth on that terrible hot day of June 
28, 1778. They were in the Bagaduce ex- 
pedition, in 1779, and the next year, 
served, under Gen. Peleg Wadsworth, 
guarding the Maine coast. Some sons 
of the town may have served in 
the south during the last of 
the war and been at Yorktown at 
the end, but no name has yet 
come under my notice. The town had 
soldiers in the service when the army 
was disbanded in 1783. There is much 
that has not been told but enough is 
known to show that Windham has an 
enviable record in the Revolutionary 
war. 

The following is a list of soldiers, 
during the war, who called Windham 
their home. The time of service is 
that that has been found on the pay 
rolls to their credit. There may be 
more and no doubt is more service due 
them, in many cases. We do not con- 
sider this list complete as we think 
that there may be others who were 
proud to sign the rolls as of the town. 
Nearly all are Windham names of that 



12 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



time. 

Lieut. Edward Anderson, 12 mos., 17 
days service. 

John Anderson, 11 mos., 6 days service. 

Lieut. David Barker, 17 days service. 

Ebenezer Barton, 42 inos. service. 

Benjamin Bodge, 6 days service. 

Thomas Bodge, 3 mos., 17 days service. 

Thomas Bolton, 2 mos., 10 days service. 

William Bolton, 5 days service. 

Amos Brown, 3 years man, killed at 
Hubbardton. 

Amos Brown, Jr., 24 mos. service. 

William Campbell, 26 days service. r 

Eleazer Chase, 36 mos. service. 

Nathaniel Chase, 9 mos., 10 days ser- 
vice. 

Joseph Chesley, 5 days service. 

James Chute, 7 mos., 22 days service. 

Josiah Chute, 46 mos., 5 days service. 

Thomas Chute, 11 mos., 17 days ser- 
vice. 

Thomas Crague, 13 days service. 

Daniel Crockett, about 8 mos. service. 

George Crockett, 11 days service. 

Philip Davis, three years man. 

Ensign Richard Dole, 3 years service 
as private and corporal. 

Isaac Elder, 2 mos., 15 days service. 

John Elder, 4 mos., 24 days service. 

.Joseph Elder, 11 mos. service. 

William Elder, 4 mos., 10 days service. 

Chase Elkins, 4 mos. service. 

William Elkins, 5 days service 

Jacob Eliott, 7 mos., 29 days service. 

.Tedidiah Eliott was a pensioner. 

Nathan Gamman, 2 mos. service. 

Caleb Graffam.Jr., S mos., 2 days ser- 
vice. 

Enoch Graffam, 50 mos., 13 days ser- 
vice. 

Enoch Hall, 3 years man. 

Job Hall, 4 years, 71/2 mos. service. 

Lieut. Ichabod Hanson, 7 mos., 24 days 
service. 

Isaac Hardy, 5 days service. 

Stephen Harris, 3 mos., 11 days service. 

Eli Herbert, 3 years man. 

Moses How, 4 mos., 24 days service. 

Elijah Hunnerwell, 11 days service. 

Richard Hunnerwell, 2 mos., 10 days 
service. 

Richard Hutchinson, 5 days service. 

Samuel Hutchinson, 4 mos., 4 days ser- 
vice. 

Nicholas Hughes, 3 years man. 

■Tames Jordan, 3 years man. 

George Knight, 9 mos., 17 days service. 

Samuel Knight, 24 mos., 14 days cer- 
vlce. 

Capt. William Knight, 16 days service. 
He was also a major of militia. 

Charles Legro, 5 days service. 

Ellas Legro, 3 years man. 

Joseph Legro, 3 years man. 



Charles Lord, about 5^^ mos. service. 

Samuel Lord, 15 mos., 16 days service. 

John Loring, 8 mos. service. 

Stephen Lowell, 10 mos. service. 

Gershon Manchester, 26 days service. 

Stephen Manchester, 49 mos. service. 

Stephen Manchester, Jr., sent from 
Valley Forge to the hospital at Read- 
ing where he died Jan. 5, 1778. 

David P. Mayberry, 16 mos., 5 days 
service. 

James Mayberry, 2 mos., 17 days ser- 
vice. 

John Mayberry, 7 mos. service. 

Capt. Richard Mayberry, 39 mos., 12 
days servive. 

Richard Mayberry, Jr., 39 mos. -'^rvice. 

Richard Mayberry, 2d., 5 days service. 

Thomas Mayberry, about 20 mos. ser- 
vice. 

William Mayberry, son of Capt. Rich- 
ard, 3 years man. 

William Mayberry, son of John, 26 days 
service. 

Robert Martin, a pensioner. 

John Mathews, 4 days service. 

Robert Millions, 3 years man. 

.John Mugford. 2 mos., 17 days service. 

James Pray, 5 days service. 

Richard Preston, 20 mos. service. 

Joseph Roberts, 19 mos., 17 days service. 

James Rines, 3 years man. Taken 
prisoner at Hubbardton July 7, 1777. 

Lonon Rhode, " a free negro," 3 years 
man, and died in the army Dec. 9, 
1777. 

.Toseph Swett, 5 days service. 

John Swett, about 3% years service. 

Peter Smith, (a negro) 43 mos. 

George Teshary, served, probably. 43 
mos.. 7 days. 

Joseph Thompson, 3 years man. 

Samuel Toben. 9 mos., 17 days service. 

Mathew Ttoben, 7 mos. service. 

Stephen Tripp, about 41 mos. service. 

Benjamin Trott, 9 mos., 17 days ser- 
vice. 

Capt. Thomas Trott of the town com- 
pany. 

Edward Webli, 3 years man. 

Eli Welib, 5 days service. 

John Winship, 7 mos., 26 days service. 

Caleb Young, 4 mos., 12 days service. 
A total of 91 soldiers. 
In addition to the above were the 

following: 
John Knight "of Windham" enlisted 

at Gorham. 
It is not known who he was. 
Smith says that the colored men. 

Flanders and Romeo served three 

years in the army but we cannot veri- 
fy the statement. He also gives the 

names of Richard Thurrell, Hezekiah 

Hall, William Cammett, Jeremiah 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOI.Ul ION. 



Small, Samuel Chandler, Stephen 
Hutchinson and William Hardy as 
three years' men, whom we cannot now 
say were Windham men. He also 
gives Joseph Hutchinson, John Young, 
and Abraham Anderson as serving less 
than three years, which should be ver- 
ified. In Capt. Wentworth Stuart's 
Go., in Col. Edmund Phinney's Ilegt. 
of 1775, appears the name of John 
Young of Pearsontown, now Standish, 
which is doubtless the above. He was 
in the 18th Continental Regt. the next 
year. 

There were three Quaker soldiers 
who came to Windham, after the war, 
as follows: Noah Reed came from 
Attleboro, Mass. He served in five dif- 
ferent companies 10 mos., 7 days. 
Lemuel Horton came from Milton. 
Mass., to Portland and then to Wind- 
ham. He served in nine different 
companies 23 mos., 20 days. Rufus 
Horton, his brother, served 24 mos., 10 
days, in ten different companies, com- 
mencing when he was but sixteen. 
He was wounded in the wrist and re- 
tired from the service with the rank of 
sergeant major. 

Other Revolutionary soldiers who 
went to Windham after the war were: 

Jonah Austin enlisted at Falmouth 
and served 3 1-2 years in the army. 
He lived near the Ireland school dis- 
trict. 

Jonathan Knight enlisted at Fal- 
mouth and was a 3 years' man. He 
moved to the town of Otisfield. 

John Farrow, Jr., moved away from 
Windham sometime before the be- 
ginning of the war to the town of 
Bristol, Me., where his four boys, 
Windham born and raised, went into 
the army. 

Peter Graffam, another Windham 
boy, went into the army from New 
Gloucester, because he was then living 
there. 

Josiah Starling, born in Windham, 
went into the army from Bristol, 
Maine. Thomas Manchester, the first 
child born in the township, moved in- 
to New Hampshire and joined a regi- 
ment there. John Manchester, a half 
brother of Stephen, moved from Wind- 
ham about 1762, was in the capture ut 
the Margaretta at Machias, in 1775, 
and he afterwards served in the army. 
There are, no doubt, other sons of 
Windham who did gallant service in 
the war, but we do not claim them as 
the town's soldiers, only those who are 
known as residents then. It is not 
necessary. 
The above list of Revolutionary sol- 



diers, who went from Windham, is re- 
markable from the fact that it num- 
bers about the same as the males of 
the town who were liable for a poll 
tax. Not the number of enlistments, 
but the number of different soldier.5. 
These men all claimed Windham for 
their home. Many men were but ooys 
then. Here is a sample. An enlist- 
ment roll says "Thomas Chute, age, 16 
years, statue, 5 feet 4 ins., dark com- 
plexion." Few towns can furnish a 
better record than this in the people's 
struggle for their independence. 
Smith says: "The number enrolled at 
any one time in the town's company 
did not amount to fifty-five, of whom 
more than thirty were known to be 
out in the Continental service and the 
service of the state, at one time, and 
during the war seventy-one er- 
formed service in the Continental army 
and drafted militia, being sixteen more 
than the number enrolled at any 
time, forty of whom served three 
years in the army." This is additional 
to those who served in the militia in 
answering alarms, not drafted. 

In the possession of the Maine His- 
torical society are two original pay 
rolls of Capt, Richard Mayberry's 
company for December, 1778. This 
was the next winter after that spent 
at Valley Forge. The pay of the men 
was as follows: 
Captain, 12 pounds per month. 
Lieutenant, 8 pounds per month. 
Ensign, 6 pounds per month. 
Sergeants, 3 pounds per month. 
Corporals, 2 pounds, 4 sh. per month. 
Drum and Fife, 2 pounds, 4 sh. per 
month. 
Privates, 2 pounds per month. 
Opposite Capt. Mayberry's name is 
written, "On furlough, Sept. 11th, by 
his Excellency Genl. Washington 
without limit." Washington evidently 
had much confidence in the Windham 
captain. The regiment was then at 
West Point. Nicholas Hughes is re- 
ported sick at Valley Forge. 

James Jordan, it says, is "on com- 
mand at the Lines." 

Robert Millions was "on furlough by 
Gen. Patterson, Nov. 19th, for 90 days." 
John Swett was" on command at the 
Line.'^ 

Peter Smith was "sick in ye Hospit- 
al at Hartford." 

Corp. Ebenezer Barton was "on fur- 
lough for 90 days by Gen. Patterson." 
He and Millions probably came hom« 
to Windham and, no doubt, walked 
nearly all the way. 



H 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



Joseph Thompson is reported 'On 
Duty." 

Thomas Chute was there all right, 
a nine months' man. Other men of 
Windham, for the same time, wer>? 
David May berry and Benjamin Trott. 
These nine montlis' men went into the 
service in June 1778. 

Josiah Chute was a sergeant and 
had enlisted in the 11th Mass. Re^'t. 
Jan. 1, 1777, for 3 years. He was struck 
in the shoulder by a musket ball, in 
the battle of Hubbardton, July 7, 1777, 
and was taken prisoner by the Briti'jh, 
from whom he escaped, and after wan- 
dering two weeks in the woods got 
into our lines. He was in command 'jf 
the company, when the rolls were 
made, and brought them home with 
him. His discharge from the army is 
written on back of one, which is as 
follows: § I 

"Head Qurs. Robinson House, 

Pi( l-\ills Dec 12th 1779. 

Serjant Josiah Chute of the Elev- 
enth Massachusetts Regt. having ion 
Represented as a faithful Soldier /ho 
has Ben wounded in Battle and by ren- 
dered unfit for Duty has Leave of ab- 
sence from Camp until the first Djy 
of January next in the year 1780 as 
Majr Knap has reported that the Time 
for which said Chute Engaged to Serve 
in the Army will Expire on the 1st of 
January next. He is not required 
again to Join his Regiment but to re- 
ceive this as a discharge from tie 
army of the United States of America 
as fully as if it was given After I is 
Time of service had Expired. 

By Command of Majr Genl Heath 
The Cartwright 
Ade De Camp." 

When Governor John A. Andrew, 
the town's most famous son, 
visited Windham in 1S62, he re- 
ferred to three of the Revo- 
lutionary soldiers, in his speech, there. 
He said — "Noah Reed whose heart and 
hat were big enough to cover the whole 
town," and then "But I must mention 
two more men, who should never be 
omitted — these two old soldiers of the 
Revolution, Josiah Chute and John 
Swett, vener-able when first I knew them 
yet intelligent and active. How many 
more were here, I cannot now rcol- 
lect. Many times and oft, on a pleas- 
ant morning like this, have I rode with 
my mother and listened to the storieh 
of events in which they took a part." 
How much they influenced that boy, 
in his own patriotism, will never be 
known. 

Capt. Mayberry and Corporal Ebe- 



nezer Barton, of his company, both 
went through the battles and exposure 
of army life and returned to their 
homes at Windham and both were 
killed, afterwards, by falling trees. 
Capt. Mayberry's grave is on Leach 
Hill, Casco, and his son William's is 
on Mayberry Hill in the same town, 
both of which were visited by me sev- 
eral years since. 

Barton's two great grandsons, Ste- 
pren T., and Frank C. Morton, both 
killed in battle and both giving their 
lives for the same old flag, to restore 
the same Union their ancestor had 
helped to establish, is a lesson in Wind- 
ham patriotism. Their bodies wer^ 
brought back to the old town and ten- 
derly laid near their Revolutionary an- 
cestor's grave, where they will prob- 
ably never be forgotten. Scripture says: 
"Greater love hath no man than this, 
that a man lay down his life for hio 
friends.' 

Jonah Austin was buried on his farm, 
but which of the little cluster of. 
graves was his, is uncertain. John 
Swett and Josiah Chute lie near each 
other in the Chute grave yard, their 
graves being well marked. Chute has a 
handsome marble monument. Lieut. 
Edward Anderson was buried at Wind- 
ham Hill and has a durable slate stone 
at his grave. Lieut. Ichabod Hanson's 
grave is in the Hanson yard and }ia:3 
a suitable stone. Stephen Manchester 
was buried 'in the Knight grave yard, 
near Dutton Hill, and although he iid 
a great service for the settlers, his 
grave has no stone to tell its occupant. 
It should not be so. In the Smith 
Grave Yard, at South Windham, were 
liuried John Elder, James Mayheri'y 
John Mayberry and Capt. Thomas 
Trott. In this enclosure is also ihe 
grave of Capt. Caleb Graffam one 
of the heroic men of Windham, both in 
the Indian wars and the Revolution. 
He died in 1784, aged 73 years. His 
epitaph is "Depart dear friends, dry 
up your tears, my dust lies here till 
Christ appears." There n-ere many 
others of our Revolutionary sires bu'-- 
ied in the town, some of their graves 
known but many forgotten. These 
notes may rot be of particular interest 
to every one, but each soldier's recoi-d 
is dear to those who are now their pos- 
terity. Time ripens such facts. It has 
been written — "He that is not proud 
of his ancestors, either has no ances- 
tors to be proud of, or else he's a de- 
generate son." 

The Quakers were a considerable 
element in Windham during the war 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION, 



15 



of the Revolution. They believed in 
peace and would not bear arms, but 
they, no doubt, aided in relieving the 
sufferings of the soldiers and their 
families, and, in the bottom of their 
hearts, hoped for the success of their own 
people's cause. My great grandfather, 
Benjamin Goold, may serve as an ex- 
ample, because I know the facts in his 
case. He joined the society long be- 
fore the war, when he lived in Eliot, 
Me. His brothers, Daniel and Alexan- 
der were brave soldiers of the Revolu- 
tion and his wife,Phebe Noble,had tw9 
brothers, Reuben and Nathan Jr., in 
the army from Gray. Her father, Na- 
than Noble, was a veteran of three 
wars and was killed during the battle 
of Saratoga, in the 11th Mass. Regt, 
in his fifty-fifth year. My grandfather 
was born the next spring after his 
death and his mother named him for 
his grandfather. When he grew up 
he was a soldier and commanded the 
Windham company through the 1812 
war. He had a grandson in the Rebel- 
lion and a great grandson in the late 
Spanish war. It needs no words of mine 
to tell where Benjamin Goold's heart 
was during the Revolutionary war, 
Quaker or no Quaker. 

Tliose townsmen who served as se- 
lectmen during the war deserve our 
warmest praise. They were the bus- 
iness men of the town and managed ''he 
affairs as only patriots can. Any nis- 
tory of Windham during the war 
would be incomplete witho- t their 
names. They were as follows: 
Edward Anderson, 1781. 

David Barker, 1775, 1776. 

Ezra Brown, 1783. 

Caleb Graffam, 1779, 1780. 

Ichabod Hanson, 1775, 1776. 

William Knight, 1777, 1782. 

Paul Little, 1779, 1781. 

Jonathan Loveitt, 1780, 1781. 

Abraham Osgood, 1777, 1778, 1782. 

Daniel Pettingall, 1777, 1782. 1783. 

Timothy Pike, 1778, 1779. 

Gershom Rogers, 1783. 

TTiomas Trott, 1775, 1776, 1778, 1780. 

The town clerks were: 
Richard Dole, 1775, 1776 and 1783. 

Edward Anderson, 1777, 1782. 

The women of the town, during the 
war, we must not pass by, for they had 
stout hearts and were constant allies 
in the struggle for their country's lib- 
erty. They, in the darkest hours, ut- 
tered w'ords of encouragement, 
furnished examples of devotion and 
spun, wove and sewed for the comfort 
of the soldiers, as only those can whose 
hearts are in their work. They sent 



their husbands and sons into the army 
would have been difficult had it been 
otherwise. There was no division of 
interest with the sons of the town and 
there is none in the glory of their 
achievements. 

Windham emerged from the long ex- 
hausting war of the Revolution impov- 
erished beyond what can now be re- 
alized. They had built the foundation 
for our success and the liberty we en- 
joy and were themselves satisfied with 
the work. They were heavily in debt, 
but although, at first, they were some- 
what uneasy as to the prospects of 
ever paying the cost, they met their 
responsibilities like men. After the war 
the town grew and the settlement of 
the whole township was consumated, 
as far as is seen now. 

When the war of 1812, came on, the 
sons of the Revolutionary patriots of 
Windham shirked no responsibility, 
although it was not a war of their 
choosing. In 1814. when the militia was 
called out for the defense of Portland, 
Capt. Nathan Goold's company re- 
ceived their orders at nine o'clock at 
night and the next morning, at nine, 
they were on Munjoy Hill, in Portland, 
armed and equipped ready for any 
service they might be called upon to 
perform. In the Rebellion, the grand- 
sons and great grandsons felt the blood 
of their fathers quicken in their veins 
and the town met the demands upon it 
with spirit, to battle for the same old 
flag. A glance over the rolls show that 
the men had inherited the patriotism of 
their ancestors, for we find among the 
Windham men the names. — Mavberry, 
Manchester. Swett. Graffam. Knight. 
Anderson, Dole, Tripp, Tjegrow, Ellion 
Elder, Bodge. Jordan, Little, Hall, 
Austin, Hanson, Pettingill, Lowell, 
and Brown. The Mayberrys, Man- 
chesters. Littles, Lowells, Bodges. 
Knights and Legrows have their rep- 
resentatives among the honored dead 
from Windham in that Civil war. 

This is a grand record for this, 
then border town of Windham, whose 
people had not themselves felt 
the effects of any of the British 
oppression. They were small in 
numbers and poor in this world's 
goods but they showed themselves 
people of principle, patriots in example 
and they illuminated their town's his- 
tory as long as the country shall exist. 
A lesson of the Revolution is the so- 
licitude of our brave ancestors for the 
approval of their posterity in the work 
they were then undertaking. They 
were setting the succeeding genera- 
tions an example which they wished 



B5 190B 



i6 



WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. 



them to follow, if they were called upon 
and supported their families staking 
everything- on the result. The end 
to do so. It seems rather pitiful, to 
us now, to think of the interest those 
homespun men took in the generations, 
then unborn, that they might have 
more opportunities than they them- 
selves had ever enjoyed. Those patriots 
builded better than they knew and 
their memories deserve well of us who 
are reaping the benefit of the results 



of their lives. This calls to our minds 
the cost of this government of ours. 
More than a million lives have been 
already sacrificed and billions of mon- 
ey spent, beside the human suffering 
incident from wars, to make our coun- 
try what it is today. Is it a wonder, 
when its existence is threatened, that the 
patriotic people rise up to defend it to 
the end? The spirit of their fathers is 
in them. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 995 855 A ^ 






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